Breakfast The Next Morning
by Marymel
Summary: Spoilers for 13x07, "Fallen Angels". Brass enjoys breakfast with Sofia and talks about the case involving Warrick's family.


**I don't own CSI.**

**To all who have followed and enjoyed my "Coffee Break" series, #1, thank you, and #2 I suck at writing love scenes, so please bear with me!**

**I thought it might be interesting to see Brass' perspective to the events in the episode, "Fallen Angels," since I always liked the relationship between Brass and Warrick. So, here's what I came up with. This does contain spoilers for 13x07, and a nod to my "Coffee Break" series as well. **

**Please read and review!**

Sofia Curtis groaned sleepily and stretched her arm across the bed, opening her eyes when she realized she was alone. She blinked and looked around the room, then smiled when she smelled fresh coffee brewing.

Wrapping a robe around her slender frame, she got out of bed and headed for her kitchen. She smiled when she saw her friend and overnight guest Jim Brass making breakfast. Dressed in the slacks and shirt he'd been wearing the night before when he came to her condo and told her about the case involving Warrick's son, Sofia had to admit he was a handsome sight.

Jim smiled when he saw Sofia standing in the doorway. "I figured coffee would get you up."

Sofia raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You cook?"

"Uh...toast and bagels." He waited for the coffee to finish brewing. Jim couldn't keep the small smile from his face when he looked at Sofia. Even with bed-messed hair and no makeup, she was breathtaking.

Sofia smiled and walked to her cabinet for two coffee mugs. "I'm glad you stayed," she said over her shoulder at Jim.

"So am I," Jim said as the toast popped out of the toaster. He took the plate Sofia offered and placed the toast on it. "You know, I didn't think you'd be home."

"Oh?" Sofia asked.

Jim chuckled softly. "Yeah, since we can't meet at Frank's anymore...well, I'm glad we found a place with some good coffee." Jim smiled as he poured the hot beverage in Sofia's mug, and then some in his own.

"You know," Sofia began, "I think Edie would have knocked us upside the head if we'd come in there much longer just for coffee."

Jim smiled. "Yeah, she'd probably asked what took us so long."

The two sat at the dining room table and doctored their toast and coffee the way they liked them. Sofia stopped buttering her toast and looked thoughtfully at Jim. "Heard from Grissom?"

Surprised, Jim answered, "No, not recently. Why?"

Sighing, Sofia said, "I just wondered...with everything that went on with Tina and Eli..."

Jim shook his head and sighed. "I just can't get over it. I mean, Warrick would have loved being a father. To see Tina and Eli just...existing like that..."

Sofia sighed. She remembered Warrick as a good CSI who knew and loved his work and his family on the team. And she knew how close he was with Grissom, Nick, Sara and Greg. Sofia looked up at Jim, who was looking down at his cup of coffee.

"I know this doesn't seem like much, but he always respected you."

Jim looked at Sofia and smiled softly. "You know, when he was getting help for his gambling...and then with the former undersherrif..." Jim shook his head and breathed a heavy sigh. "He learned life is too damn short to waste another chance." He took a sip of his coffee and added, "He got a second chance, and then a third..."

Sofia rubbed Jim's arm. "He knew not to waste anything or take anything for granted. Maybe now Tina will do the same."

Nodding, Jim added, "At least now Nick and Greg and Sara can see Eli. When she cut herself and Eli off from the crime lab after Warrick died, it was hard. I mean, Nick just wanted to be the father figure, and Greg and Sara wanted to be the aunt and uncle..."

Smiling softly, Sofia said, "You'd be a cool uncle."

Jim laughed softly. "Yeah." Taking another sip of coffee, he added, "You know, that team is my family. We're not perfect, but we're..."

"Just right?" Sofia asked with a smirk. She and Jim shared a laugh. Sofia remembered how it felt to work with the team when she was unfairly demoted by Ecklie, and how when she became a detective, Warrick and the others treated her with respect and concern.

Jim looked at the beautiful deputy sherrif. He had respected her as a CSI and then as a detective. She'd always been a shoulder to lean on for him, and he had wondered if there was something more than friendship between them.

Sofia's cell phone beeped and she glanced at the screen. "I've got a meeting with Sheriff Liston at eleven." She looked up into the understanding face of Jim Brass. "Shall we...do this again tomorrow?"

Jim smiled. "If I don't get a case, then yeah." He took Sofia's hand and leaned forward, giving her a sweet, passionate kiss.

Just then, Jim's cell rang. He groaned as he pulled away from Sofia. "Brass," he answered automatically.

Sofia watched as Jim talked on the phone, occasionally taking bites of her toast.

"All right, I'll meet CSI's there." Jim hung up the phone and looked at the beautiful woman in front of him. "419 at the Tangiers. I gotta go."

Sofia smiled, watching the detective get up and grab his jacket. She stood up and grabbed the tie from the couch where it had been discarded the night before. He smiled when she adjusted his tie around his neck.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Sofia asked.

Jim smiled. "Yeah. I like the coffee." Sofia rolled her eyes and smiled. Jim wrapped his arms around Sofia's slender waist and pulled her closer. "I like the coffee almost as much as I do the company."

"Almost," Sofia whispered as she leaned in for a kiss.

**The End.**


End file.
